Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 12

(Only 1 chapter today; I forgot that I had to do some end-of-year accounting this morning)

Chapter 12

The destruction of Felith didn’t happen in a vacuum.  Unlike the “native” citizens that inhabited Tarth, who were implicitly instructed – or ordered – to essentially take whatever disasters befell them without reaction, the world of Plangea was a real community that didn’t simply pass off the obliteration of one of their towns without doing something about it.  The Netherine ruling body, or at least the governing organization that oversaw the land that Thaden and Sadia were traveling through, wasted no time in reacting to the situation.  That was made completely clear when Thaden walked up to the gate leading into the nearest town just past the jungle where he’d spent the night, with Sadia having retreated back into the CAMP.

“Where are you coming from, stranger?” one of the Gate Guards asked as Thaden was stopped with a spear across his path.

Distracted by his growling stomach, he only realized after he spoke that he probably should’ve lied about his origins.  “Oh, uh, Felith.  Though it’s not—”

Moving faster than he could easily follow, the large Netherine guarding the gate grabbed his left arm and practically picked him up.  “You’re coming with me.”

“Whoa, what’s going on?  Let me go!”

The Guard, whose name was Chowlin, didn’t say anything as he manhandled Thaden like he was an unruly toddler.  Looking to see what Level he was, all he got were question marks, so he was at least Level 14 or higher – which made him too strong to easily escape from.

“That was not the smartest idea to mention Felith, Thaden.”

Sadia’s mental communication was a welcome backdrop to what was happening to him, as he was comforted by the fact that he wasn’t alone.  Still, he couldn’t help but acknowledge that she was right, but he couldn’t exactly communicate with her while he was in the Guard’s custody.

As he was practically dragged and pushed through the town, dozens of its residents watched with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension in their gazes and movements, and he could hear more than a few of them whispering behind his back.  Most of what he heard were questions about who Thaden was and what he’d done, but just as many also questioned his race; despite living in Felith for half a year, knowledge of Humans probably hadn’t spread all that much.  Unfortunately, that hinted that there weren’t any Humans nearby, either as new residents or as Front Line forces fighting the main threat of the Adversary; it also meant that it was unlikely that Corinna had ended up in the Densartis Faction – but he wasn’t going to let that disappoint him, as he knew it was only a very slim possibility from the beginning.

“Where are you taking me?  I didn’t do anything!”

His questions and complaints fell on deaf ears, however, as he was brought to a familiar-looking building near the center of the town.  As he caught a glimpse of the exterior of the Adventurer’s Coalition building, he noted that it appeared almost identical to the one that had been in Felith, with only slight color differences and perhaps size; he couldn’t get a complete look at it, but it seemed a little bit bigger than the one that used to exist in the town that had been destroyed.

Thaden was dragged behind the Guard as the Netherine pushed through the doors leading into the Coalition, but Chowlin didn’t stop.  Instead, he was forcefully brought toward the right-hand side of the lobby, where he could see some doors that led… somewhere. 

“This doesn’t look good.  Whatever you do, don’t mention anything about what happened within the Coalition there with the Codexical Access Point.  If they’re looking to link you to what occurred, that’ll likely tip them off.”

What?  Who?  What is going on?  It seemed as if Sadia had finally figured out what was happening, but she couldn’t actually hear his thoughts to answer his questions.  Despite that, he trusted her to have his best interests at heart, so he elected to follow her instructions.

Chowlin wasted no time pushing through one of the non-descript doors, literally lifting Thaden through the entryway with fur-covered hand practically engulfing his upper arm.  It was slightly painful being handled like that, but his Physicality was now high enough not to let the pain turn into actual damage; instead, it was more uncomfortable than anything.

Thaden was plopped down in front of the Gate Guard as the larger Netherine came to a stop.  Before he could fully grasp his surroundings, he heard the uncommunicative Guard say, “Says he came from Felith,” and then released his arm.  Thaden glanced behind him to see Chowlin already retreating, exiting out the door they’d just past through, before closing it behind him.

Turning back to the front, he froze as he realized he was in a relatively small room, perhaps 30 feet in width and length, though it was approximately 20 feet tall from floor to ceiling.  He also immediately noticed that he wasn’t alone – and for a wonder, he wasn’t suddenly surrounded by tiger-demons.  Instead, 3 of them were of races that were familiar to him, while the other 2 were completely brand-new.

A quick glance at the 5 individuals showed that all of them were much higher Level than him, at least according to the questions marks he saw, as well as their equipment.  In short, they were dressed for war.

Darvo – Densartis Local Legion {Densartis Faction}

Orbrion

Level ???

Zarin – Densartis Local Legion {Densartis Faction}

Heliothrope

Level ???

Bat’la’hera – Densartis Local Legion {Densartis Faction}

Aelveen

Level ???

Loc’ra’toda – Densartis Local Legion {Densartis Faction}

Aelveen

Level ???

Narden – Densartis Local Legion {Densartis Faction}

Charee

Level ???

The Orbrion, Darvo, stood approximately 5 feet tall, but he was built like a truck with how stocky and sturdy he appeared.  A cyclops-like singular eyeball stood out as the most impactful of his features – unless one counted the stone-like skin that covered his entire body, including his completely bald head, or the oversized nostrils that looked like deep tunnels that led into the abyss.  He – at least, he thought it was a he – was wearing a set of dark leather armor that appeared extremely well-made, and it exuded an energy that indicated that it was filled with quite a few stat increases and other bonuses.  There was also a metal rod hanging off his belt, which told Thaden that Darvo was most likely a caster of some sort – possibly a Control Class.

Zarin, on the other hand, was most definitely a Fighter Class.  The Heliothrope stood twice as tall as Thaden with a spherical-shaped head, so around 12 to 13 feet tall, and the blue-skinned and hairless figure had 6 arms arranged in pairs down either side of its lengthy torso.  It wore absolutely nothing that could be classified as clothes or armor, and only a fur-lined loincloth was present to protect its dignity.  It did have numerous bracelets, rings, and necklaces, however, all of which gave off a feeling of power that indicated that they made the massive figure extremely strong.  How he knew the Heliothrope was the Fighter was due to the 6 assorted weapons it held in its hands, each of which appeared to have been well-used through many battles.

As for the other 3, a pair of them were Aelveen, a race that he’d met on Tarth.  Tall and lithe, with pointed ears and impossibly gorgeous features, the Aelveen looked just like typical elves from fantasy lore.  Bat’la’hera was clearly a woman, and she was wearing a sleek dark-green robe that hugged her body in all the right places; an accompanying crystal staff in her hand practically screamed Mage to anyone with eyes.  Loc’ra’toda was male and was wearing some sort of dark cloth clothing, with no sign of any armor, but he also had a pair of what looked like some sort of sharp-edged brass knuckles wrapped around his fingers.  He could only assume that they were a Scout Class – though they were unlike any that he’d seen before.

The last of the group was a Charee, the “natives” of Thaden’s particular Region back on Tarth.  With ruddy, almost orange skin and three eyes, they were a mixture between the Orbrion race and the Elves, at least in terms of how humanoid they appeared, but the Charee were probably the ones he was the most comfortable being around, as he had lived with them for nearly 2 years while on Tarth.  While the Aelveen were certainly more familiar to the typical Human from Earth, at least in recognition from fantasy lore, their unnatural beauty was more than a bit unnerving to Thaden.  Even after working with a few of them on Tarth, they still made him uncomfortable.

Based on what he figured the Classes of the other people in the room were, Thaden assessed the Charee as a Support Class.  They weren’t wearing a robe, though, and instead was wearing a pair of grey overalls with a plain dark-blue shirt underneath it, along with heavy black work boots and a dark visor that covered all three of his eyes. 

He had no idea how strong they were based on their Level, but he figured they were at least Level 40 or 50, if not higher.

“Thaden.  Level 3.  What is a Human doing here?” the Aelveen Mage suddenly asked as he was continuing to look at the assemblage of people around him. 

Thaden was momentarily taken aback at the sudden question, but the inflection that Bat’la’hera used sounded like she knew who the Humans were.  “You, uh, know of the Humans?” he asked instead of answering.

“Of course.  The Humans of Earth completed their developmental period 209 years, 6 months, and 4 days ago when they were assimilated into the System.  The Densartis Faction was unable to acquire a lot from the Auction, but I have personally worked with Humans on the Front Line a total of 14 times since they first arrived.  As far as I aware, there are no Humans living inside the Faction’s territory, so I ask you once again: What is a Human doing here?”

“Did she just say 209 years?  How was that possible?”

Thaden wondered the same thing, but as much as he wanted to collapse to his knees in shock after learning that it had been more than two centuries since the developmental world of Tarth had been completed by the Humans, he did his best to keep his composure.  There was a significant increase in the aura of danger he felt coming from a few of the other individuals in the room, as if they were becoming impatient with him.

“I, uh, arrived about 6 months ago.”

“How did you get here?  The closest Faction border is over 8,200 miles from this location.”

He shook his head at the sheer size of the Densartis Faction, but he answered as truthfully as possible.  “I actually don’t know.  I was found dead in the jungle nearby and was lucky enough to be Resurrected by some passing Netherines.”

The Mage glanced at the overall-wearing Charee, who nodded almost imperceptibly.  Uh, oh.  Some sort of lie detection ability or something?  Crap.

“Where did you come from before you arrived here?  What Faction do you belong to?”

Trying to figure out how to answer without triggering a lie, he gave himself two seconds of thought before he responded.  “I came from Tarth, and I don’t belong to any Faction.”  He debated saying he came from Earth, or even mention the city he’d been in before being transferred away, but that wasn’t technically where he’d been before he arrived.  

Thankfully, his response got another nod from the Charee.

“Tarth?  Isn’t that one of the developmental worlds?” the other Aelveen interjected his question, his voice just as musical-sounding as the Mage. 

Bat’la’hera nodded.  “You are correct.  But it was damaged after its last use, and I don’t recall hearing that it had been inserted into rotation yet.”

“Then… how?  He must be lying.”

Narden, the Support Class, cleared his throat.  “My Assessment is that he is hiding something, but he’d telling the truth about where he’d from – and the fact that he doesn’t belong to any Faction.”

The Aelveen Mage turned her attention back to Thaden and seemed to pierce him with her eyes, as if she was staking him against the wall.  “What are you hiding, Human Thaden?”

“Tell them about what happened to Felith.  Not your involvement, of course, but describe what you saw and heard from your old boss.  I have a feeling that they were sent here to investigate what happened, so try to deflect them away from your origins and have them focus on their mission.”

What Sadia said made sense, so after a few seconds of hesitation, as well as swallowing a few times in dramatic fashion, he finally responded.  “I’m, uh, not hiding anything about myself.  I just didn’t want anyone knowing about what I saw in Felith, in fear that they would think that I had anything directly to do with it.  In truth, I feel responsible for the deaths of my friends and my Coalition Party, because I wasn’t strong or fast enough to get back to the town before they died and the Felith was destroyed.”

There.  I admitted that I saw Felith, and even told them that I feel responsible – which is the truth – but hopefully that will deflect any suspicion from me.

The Party from the Densartis Local Legion – which was something that he would be asking Sadia about later – was silent for a few seconds before the aura of danger than he’d felt becoming increasingly oppressive since he walked in began to subside.  Even the Aelveen Mage’s face softened somewhat from the severe appearance it had before, as she suddenly seemed to realize they were antagonizing a Level 3 Human that couldn’t possibly have been responsible for what happened to Felith.  He could only be thankful that his Personality stat had been bumped up past 1, otherwise he was half-convinced they would’ve tortured him for the information they desired from him.

“I understand,” Bat’la’hera said in a softer tone.  “Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us what you know.”

At Sadia’s prompting, Thaden did just that.  He told them that he had gone with his Party to a dungeon to clear it, and on the way back, they felt something was wrong back in Felith.  As a Level 3 Support Class, which he freely admitted he was (though not the specific Class), he couldn’t keep up with them, which they accepted immediately; he recalled when he sensed his Party members die, which was when he approached the town fearfully and cautiously.  He described the scene that he observed when he arrived before recounting the conversation he had with Regiven outside in the fields, as well as how he was unable to save the Netherine from the burning acid-like attack that he’d suffered.  He then admitted fleeing before checking to see if anyone else was still alive, as he feared that the massive lizards that had done that to the town would come back. 

“He’s telling the truth,” Narden said, confirming for the others that Thaden’s tale was accurate.  He inwardly sighed in relief, as it was difficult straddling the line between truth and concealing some incriminating information.  Thankfully, the Charee didn’t mention that he was still hiding something.

“This doesn’t make any sense.”  Startled at the voice that sounded like a bunch of rocks being ground against each other, Thaden glanced at Darvo as he continued.  “There haven’t been any report of any breakthroughs coming from the Front Lines, and for Scorching Quizards to show up at Felith, which is more than 1,000 miles from closest point where they might have slipped through, it’s practically impossible for them to have been here without some sign that they were trampling over the land.”

It seemed the others agreed, because they didn’t say anything to refute the Orbrion’s claim that it was impossible.  The Aelveen Mage tapped her long, delicate-looking fingers against her chin in thought; after a few seconds, she pointedly looked at Thaden again.  “You said that they attacked the Adventurer’s Coalition building first?”  Thaden nodded.  Fortunately, she didn’t address the next question toward him, but instead looked at her Party members.  “Why would they do that – and then leave after killing everything within range of the town, disappearing without a single trace?”

As they began to discuss potential reasons, the other Aelveen, Loc’ra’toda slipped up next to Thaden without him even seeing him move.  “You can go now,” he said abruptly, which made Thaden jerk in surprise.  “Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  Please stick around Purbooth for a little while in case we have any other questions.”

Thaden could only nod in response, not trusting himself to say anything, and turned to leave.  He half-expected to be stopped at some point, but he managed to open the door and pass through it without any delay, and he closed it behind himself.  Letting out a deep breath, he centered himself before he walked out the door of the Coalition as quickly as possible without running.

“You should probably leave as soon as possible.  You don’t need them looking into you further.”

Thaden nodded, as her thoughts aligned precisely with his own.  First, I need some supplies, food, and a perhaps some more clothes, and then I’m out of here.  With a list in his mind, he got to work on it as soon as possible.

                    *

“I think the only way we’re going to find out why they were here is to get back out there and look for them.  They can’t have completely disappeared; there has to be some trace that we missed.”

They had been discussing and arguing for hours about what to do about the mission they had been given by the Local Legion Command, but no matter how many times they went around in circles, they still hadn’t come to a concrete decision.  Bat’la’hera sighed as she sat down and leaned back in her chair, still slightly worn out from the rapid pace they’d taken to arrive in the middle of the night, only to spend most of the night and the morning searching for any sign of the culprits. 

At least we have a little bit more information on what it actually was that destroyed Felith – if that Human could be believed.  Thankfully, it was extremely difficult to lie in front of someone like Narden, so she could only assume that he was telling the truth.  But then that meant that there were Scorching Quizards here, which was an impossibility in and of itself, as the monsters were typically Level 120 or even higher, and it didn’t sound like these were an exception with how quickly they devastated the local area.

But then… where are they?  And why Felith and the Coalition building there?

She felt like she was missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere, but the problem was that she didn’t know what the puzzle piece even looked like.  Perhaps that Human will have remembered something else that might help.  We’ll have to ask him later… and perhaps look further into why a Human is here in the first place.

Bat’la’hera started rubbing her temples as she closed her eyes, the stress of the last day starting to get to her.  More and more it seemed as if this mission was doomed to failure, because if Loc’ra’toda hadn’t found any trace of them before, it was unlikely he would find any if they went back to check again.  They were going to have to wait until the Scorching Quizards started destroying other towns, which was a horrible thought, but they really didn’t have any other alternative unless they received some new information soon.

She opened up her eyes as she heard the door to the Coalition lobby open, only to see a pair of hesitant Netherines that were part of the Coalition’s staff pushing a cart laden with food inside.  While the Local Legion wasn’t technically affiliated with the Adventurer’s Coalition and was instead closely connected with the Front Line forces, as they shared the same pool of people, the Coalition treated the members of the Local Legion with respect – because when disaster struck, it was the Legion that swooped in to save the day.  They were small in number, but they were an important part of the defense of the Faction, even if they didn’t always directly fight the powerful monsters that the Front Line forces did every day.

“I apologize for the interruption,” the Purbooth Coalition Leader announced with a slight bow in their direction, as she directed her subordinate to start laying out a number of plates and bowls for the Local Legion Party.  “I figured you were all hungry, so I wanted to make sure you kept your strength up for whatever you’re doing next,” she said respectfully, but with a confidence that told Bat’la’hera that the Coalition Leader was confident of her own authority inside her building.

“You have our thanks.  I have to admit that I could go for a tasty repast,” she responded, nodding her head in mutual respect.  She was the nominal leader of her own Party, just as the Netherine across from her was the leader of this Coalition Branch.

It didn’t take long before everything was set out for them, though even before everything was arranged, the Local Legion was already digging in.  Even Bat’la’hera felt the pangs of hunger touching her as she realized she hadn’t eaten in nearly a day, as there had been more important matters to deal with. 

As the Coalition Branch Leader and her subordinate were leaving, she saw the older Netherine turn back at the door.  “By the way, I hope our important visitor was able to help you earlier.”

Bat’la’hera was immediately confused.  “Important visitor?”  She looked at the others, wondering if she had missed something.  “Who are you talking about?”  All of them looked as confused as she was.

“Oh, you know, that Human fellow.  Thaden, I believe his name was.” 

She looked at Narden, and she could see his eyes widen in shock underneath his visor.  “Thaden?  Yes, he was… somewhat helpful.  But why did you call him an important visitor?”

“Oh!  I apologize, I forgot that those from the Local Legion can’t see our Coalition Ranks.  Thaden is an important visitor because his Rank is the highest I’ve ever actually seen in person.  Platinum-plus, in fact.  I hope you treated him appropriately for his Rank.”

What?!  Despite her high Mentality stat, it felt like her mind had just slammed into a wall she hadn’t seen.  When she could finally think again, she was relieved to see that only a second or so had passed.  “Are you sure?  You couldn’t be mistaken?”

“Oh, no, it was quite clear to us when we saw him walk out.  In fact, I’ve already reprimanded Chowlin, the Guard on duty at the gate, for physically assaulting such an important member of the Coalition.  Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about that kind of thing happening with the Local Legion.  Do I?”

She didn’t hesitate to answer.  “No, you do not.  We didn’t even touch him.”  The last thing they needed was difficulty with the Coalition right now, especially when they might need its help to complete their mission.

“That is great to hear!  Let me know if you need anything else,” the Coalition Branch Leader smiled at them with a mouth full of sharp teeth, before closing the door behind her.

Bat’la’hera swung toward Narden, while she felt Loc’ra’toda practically disappear as he rushed outside.  She intuitively knew he would be looking for the Human to ensure that the individual was still in town like he’d been advised.  Of course, that was before they knew about his Rank in the Coalition.  “How did we miss that?  And what else did we miss?” she asked.

“I… don’t know.  Either he was strong enough to trick my Visor, or he was actually telling the truth.  What I do know is that we need to ask him some more questions.”  She nodded in agreement.

A few seconds later, Loc was back, coming to a stop next to her with a few ragged breaths.  “He’s gone.  Left out the west gate hours ago.”

Great.  Another mystery – and I don’t like mysteries.  What are you hiding, Thaden?

“Well then, we have to find him,” she told her fellow Aelveen.  “He’s our only lead right now, and we can’t let him get away.” 

She then addressed the rest of the Party. 

“Get ready to leave.  We have a new objective.”